The man & his bike: Abraham Motswagae

SHARE | Tuesday, 01 August 2017 | By B. Double

Abraham Motswagae runs a motorcycle training school called Able Mots. He started the school in 2005 after realising that there was a problem regarding motorcycle licensing in Botswana. At that time, one could simply go to the Department of Transport, obtain a learner’s license and start riding. One did not even need to have a clue of how to operate a bike. According to Abraham, this arrangement continued until 2007. Some of his first clients were Sprint Couriers and Security Systems. At this time, there were very few individuals who were interested in riding motorcycles. Abraham became interested in motorcycles through a cousin of his who used to ride a moped. He felt that if he could learn to ride a motorcycle, then “maybe tomorrow it could feed me”, he recalls. He also wanted to help others who wanted to acquire a license. Abraham’s first motorcycle was a Yamaha XJR1300. This was a 1300 cc motorcycle which he bought in 2004. He rode this until 2010, when he sold it. From then on, he focused on building his business. In 2016, he bought his current motorcycle – a Yamaha R1. Abraham likes the high performance of the R1. He says that he does not mind the fact that his R1 does not have features such as traction control and ABS braking as he feels that he does not need them. Abraham uses the R1 to attend biker events. He says that he supports all local biker events. He would like to have a Harley Davidson Street Glide as his next bike. This is a tourer. Speaking of the Street Glide, he says that “it has everything”. It has luxuries such as a stereo and blue tooth.

When asked what his dream bike is, Abraham does not hesitate to answer; it is a customised Harley Davidson Night Rod. He would like his Nightrod lowered and with a fat rear tyre. Customised Nightrods are found mostly in Germany. “My wish is to see motorcycling growing in Botswana,” says Abraham. He feels that most people do not see the business opportunities made available by bikers. He points out that there are no suitable places in Botswana for staging biker events. At most venues where biker events are held, some people complain that bikes are noisy. However, in other countries, he points out, people are making a lot of money because they do have venues which are suitable for biker events. In Swaziland, he says, business people make money every August from the Swazi Rally. People pay money to use camping sites, for example. Abraham says that this year there shall be a local event involving Botswana bikers hosting RAMBO - a council of different motorcycle clubs in South Africa. The event will be called the Zebra Rally. 170 bikers from South Africa are expected to show up. This shall be a chance for people in Botswana to make money, in Abraham’s view. Abraham organised an event earlier this month called the Mayor’s Charity Ride. He says that the event was successful. He says that NGOs have already approached him since the event, asking him to do it again in future.